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A Wakening  of  China 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 


Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
OF  THE  Reformed  Church  in  America, 
25  East  22d  Street,  New  York  City. 


https://archive.org/details/awakeningofchinaOOroos 


Z\)c  Hwahenlna  of  China.* 


By  Theopore  Roosevelt. 

ECENTLY  on  two  different  Sundays  1 
have  listened  to  sermons,  one  by  Mr 
Howard  Richards,  Jr.,  an  Episcopal 
missionary,  of  Boone  College  in 
Wuchang,  China,  and  one  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  John 
Fox,  a Presbyterian  clergyman,  who,  in  behalf 
of  the  Bible  Society,  has  just  made  a tour  of  the 
world,  devoting  his  time  especially  to  China. 
Dr.  Fox  urged  in  the  strongest  way  the  need  of 
our  giving  substantial  backing  to  the  Bible  So- 
ciety— and  it  is  not  very  creditable  to  us  as  a 
people  that  the  British  Bible  Society  should  have 
three  times  the  funds  of  the  American  Bible 
Society.  But  what  concerned  me  most  at  the 
moment  was  the  very  strong  appeal  made  by  both 
speakers  for  aid  ,in  awakening  and  directing  the 
interest  of  the  American  people  in  the  cause  of 
Christian  education  in  China.  The  appeal  was 
made  by  both  men  in  the  broadest  possible  spirit, 
not  especially  on  behalf  of  any  institution,  any 
church  or  denomination,  but  in  advocacy  of  the 
fulfillment  of  our  human,  philanthropic,  Christian 
obligations  to  this  great  awakening  people  across 
the  sea.  Mr.  Richards  described  his  experience 
during  the  famine,  when  on  the  famine  relief  com- 
mittee at  Hsuchou,  six  days’  journey  from  Shang- 


(*  Reprinted  from  the  Outlook  of  November  i8, 1908, 
by  permission.) 


4 


hai.  Not  only  he  and  other  Episcopalians,  but 
Presbyterians  and  Roman  Catholics,  all  served 
together  on  the  committee  in  charge  of  the  hand- 
ling and  distribution  of  the  large  amount  of  food- 
stuffs and  money  given  to  the  starving  people. 
He  dwelt  on  the  way  he  was  impressed  while  thus 
serving  on  the  committee,  by  seeing  Chinese  stu- 
dents from  schools  carried  on  by  each  of  these 
three  churches  represented  on  the  committee.  He 
spoke  of  the  great  amount  of  educational  work 
being  carried  on  in  China,  not  only  by  the  Prot- 
estant denominations,  but  by  the  different  Roman 
Catholic  orders,  many  of  which  are  backed  by  men 
and  money  from  Roman  Catholics  of  the  United 
States;  and  he  mentioned  particularly  the  suc- 
cessful school  for  Chinese  boys  at  Wuchang  car- 
ried on  by  Father  Espelage,  and  his  own  special 
friendship  for  one  of  the  men  who  at  Hsuchou 
was  carrying  on  a Roman  Catholic  school  for 
farmers’  boys,  who  were  supported  at  the  remark- 
ably low  cost  of  less  than  six  cents  a day.  The 
appeals  of  both  Mr.  Richards  and  Dr.  Fox  were 
made  in  the  largest  sense  for  Christian  and 
humanitarian  work.  Dr. -Fox  mentioned  several 
very  striking  facts  to  show  the  awakening  of 
interest  in  Occidental  thought  and  work  among 
the  people  of  China ; how  one  prominent  Viceroy, 
a very  able  and  high-minded  man,  though  not  a 
professed  Christian,  has  translated  into  Chinese 
not  only  certain  scientific  works  such  as  the 
writings  of  Huxley,  but  also  many  chapters  from 
the  four  Gospels ; and  how  a search  in  the  book- 
stalls of  one  Chinese  city  showed  no  less  than 
ninety  books  recently  published  dealing  with 


5 


phases  of  Occidental  thought,  or  giving  advice 
by  Chinese  writers  to  their  own  countrymen  based 
on  Occidental  experiences  of  all  kinds,  from  kin- 
dergartens to  Christianity. 

China  is  awakening.  There  is  increasing  con- 
tact with  foreigners,  increasing  foreign  trade,  and 
a growing  adoption  of  modern  methods  of  com- 
munication and  transportation,  while  some  prog- 
ress is  being  made  in  the  introduction  of  labor- 
saving  devices,  with  consequent  industrial  evolu- 
tion. In  over  a hundred  cities  there  is  now  a 
more  or  less  successful  effort  to  introduce  a 
Western  police  system,  and  what  this  means  for 
the  preservation  of  order  it  is  hardly  necessary 
to  point  out.  Much  admirable  evangelistic,  educa- 
tional, and  medical  missionary  work  is  being  done 
by  the  missionaries ; and  a part  of  this  consists  in 
the  introduction  and  broadcast  circulation  of  trans- 
lations of  the  Bible  and  of  Western  literature. 
The  attitude  of  the  Chinese  towards  learning  from 
the  West  has  been  utterly  changed  ever  since 
August,  1901,  when,  by  an  Imperial  edict,  the  old- 
style  literary  examinations  were  abolished,  and 
it  was  directed  that  future  candidates,  for  degrees 
as  well  as  for  office,  should  write  their  essays  on 
such  modern  topics  as  Western  science,  govern- 
ment, and  laws.  In  August  last  over  a hundred 
Chinese  students  who  are  studying  in  this  country 
met  in  conference  at  Ashburnham,  Massachusetts. 
Such  a movement  as  this  means  a shaking  loose 
from  the  old  superstitions  which  have  fettered  the 
Chinese  to  a degree  it  is  hard  for  us  to  realize; 
and  it  also  means  the  growth  of  a real  and  intelli- 
gent spirit  of  patriotism  in  all  parts  of  China. 


6 


Americans  are  doing  much  for  securing  Chris- 
tian education  among  the  Chinese.  They  are 
training  many  of  the  future  leaders  and  thousands 
of  the  rank  and  file.  In  1907  there  were  nearly 
thirty  thousand  Chinese  students  among  the  eleven 
hundred  and  fifty-three  American  educational  in- 
stitutions in  China,  which  embraced  kindergartens, 
primary  schools,  high  schools,  colleges,  univer- 
sities, normal,  divinity,  and  trade  schools.  Many 
men  who  have  received  their  early  training  at 
some  one  of  the  American  schools  or  colleges  in 
China  are  now  mightily  influencing  the  industrial, 
political,  and  moral  life  of  their  land.  One  of  the 
most  importaht  functions  of  these  schools  has 
been  to  supply  good  native  teachers  for  Ch’na, 
and  their  graduates  are  in  constantly  increasing 
demand.  But  recently,  in  making  such  a demand, 
the  Chinese  Director-General  of  Education  at 
Nanking,  who  is  not  himself  a Christian,  stated 
in  explanation  that  the  old  moral  maxims  of 
Chinese  education,  though  they  expressed  abstract 
truths,  had  no  spiritual  motives  behind  them,  and 
that  the  old  and  formalized  religion  had  been 
divorced  from  morality,  and  concluded  with  these 
striking  words : “The  only  religion  that  teaches 
both  the  spiritual  wants  of  mankind  and  the  prin- 
ciples of  morality  also  is  the  Christian  religion. 
That  is  why  we  wish  you  to  teach  it  in  our  leading 
schools.”  The  American  schools  stimulate  and 
aid  the  best  Chinese  in  an  earnest  fight  against 
opium  and  kindred  vices,  and  against  political  cor- 
ruption, and  encourage  them  bravely  to  strive  for 
a high  standard  of  domestic  morality. 

Surely  when  so  much  is  being  done  by  brave. 


7 

1 sincere,  disinterested  countrymen  of  ours  over  in 
' China,  we  at  home  should  help  them  with  men 
' and  with  money.  I believe  that  such  help  would 
I benefit  us  commercially,  but  I do  not  advocate  it 
chiefly  for  this  reason;  indeed,  I think  the  chief 
good  to  the  United  States  would  be  the  good 
: always  derived  by  a nation,  as  by  an  individual, 
when  noble  and  unselfish  work  is  done.  The 
work  of  the  missionaries  tends  to  avert  revolu- 
tionary disturbances  in  China,  and  to  lead  her 
■ into  a position  of  power  for  peace  and  righteous- 
ness. She  cannot  herself  at  present  Garry  on  an 
, effective  educational  work;  in  addition  to  the  lack 
of  teachers,  the  Chinese  debt  is  too  great — and 
incidentally  Americans  must  feel  a genuine  sense 
of  pleasure  in  this  Nation’s  having  returned  the 
major  part  of  the  indemnity  fund  to  China.  The 
; Christian  educational  schools  in  China  must  for 
the  present  take  the  leading  part  in  the  work  for 
the  uplifting  of  the  whole  Chinese  character,  for 
: that  depends  primarily,  as  the  character  of  every 
nation  must  depend,  on  the  lives  of  the  individual 
men  and  women. 

The  awakening  of  China  is  one  of  the  great 
events  of  our  age,  and  the  remedy  for  the  “yellow 
peril,”  whatever  that  may  be,  is  not  the  repression 
of  life,  but  the  cultivation  and  direction  of  life. 
Here  at  home  we  believe  that  the  remedy  for 
popular  discontent  is  not  repression  but  justice 
, and  education.  Similarly^  the  best  way  to  avert 
I.  possible  peril,  commercial  or  military,  from  the 
great  Chinese  people,  is  by  behaving  righteously 
toward  them  and  by  striving  to  inspire  a righteous 
life  among  them.  Our  Christian  missions  have  for 


their  object  not  only  the  saving  of  souls,  but  the 
imparting  of  a life  that  makes  possible  the  king- 
dom of  God  on  the  earth.  It  seems  to  me  that 
there  is  no  place  where  there  is  better  opportunity 
to-day  to  do  this  work  than  in  China,  and  I earn- 
estly hope  that  we  can  attract  the  attention  of  the 
great  public  outside  of  the  so-called  missionary 
circles  to  the  possibility  and  practicability,  no  less 
than  to  the  importance,  of  the  work.  As  Bishop 
Brent  has  said,  now  is  the  time  for  the  West  to 
implant  its  ideals  in  the  Orient,  in  such  fashion 
as  to  minimize  the  chance  of  a dreadful  future 
clash  between  two  radically  different  and  hostile 
civilizations ; if  we  wait  until  to-morrow,  we  may 
find  that  we  have  waited  too  long. 


